This invention relates to aircraft engines, and more specifically, to a computer implemented method and system for planning repair of an aircraft engine.
An aircraft engine is often removed from an aircraft, taken "off-wing", for servicing at a maintenance or repair shop for a number of reasons such as to repair damage to the aircraft engine, restore operating performance of the aircraft engine, inspect or repair safety flaws in the aircraft engine, or upgrade the aircraft engine for increased operating life.
During servicing of the aircraft engine for the above-noted reasons, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires compliance with regulations regarding inspection, refurbishment, and/or replacement of life limited parts (LLPs). LLPs are parts in the aircraft engine that have a limited operating life often defined as having a limited number of permitted cycles. A cycle is an excursion from idle to takeoff power and back. For example, a cycle occurs in a typical flight that has a takeoff and landing including thrust reverser. Another example of a cycle is a touch-and-go landing and takeoff used for pilot training.
Typically, at a repair shop, a service manager receives a package of documents containing the reason or reasons that the aircraft engine was removed from the wing of the aircraft for repair (e.g., damage, inspection, etc.), the customer's request that the engine be repaired to achieve a certain build level, the remaining life of each of the LLPs in the aircraft engine, FAA regulations regarding LLPs for the aircraft engine, and service bulletins for the aircraft engine such as requirements for repair or inspection of parts, replacement of defective parts, or incorporation of manufacturer design changes. The service manager reviews the documents and develops a workscope planning document which is a general outline of the specific repairs to be performed to the aircraft engine. The developed workscope planning document is then reviewed, and if approved by the customer, the aircraft engine is then repaired.
A drawback of the current procedure is that the review by the service manager of the compiled data is labor intensive and time consuming. As a result, a specific FAA regulation or service bulletin may fail to be addressed so that the aircraft engine must then be later removed from the aircraft and properly repaired, or a specific FAA regulation or service bulletin may be inadvertently requested. Another drawback is that the collection of the information provided to the service manager is a tedious, labor-intensive process.
Therefore, there is a need for a system which reduces the time and effort in collecting and maintaining information regarding an aircraft engine and service requirements, and which allows the service manager to plan repair or overhaul of the aircraft engine in less time and with increased accuracy thereby reducing the cost for repair of the aircraft engine.